Sleep Bag FAQ's

Here are some answers to Frequently Asked Questions about our Sleep Bags...

Why are Sleep Bags a great choice for baby bedding?

What ages are Mockingbird Street Sleep Bags designed for?

What size do I need?

What does TOG mean?

What should my child wear inside a Sleep Bag?

Could my child become too hot?

Do Sleep Bags wash and dry easily?

Do I need more then one Sleep Bag?

Why are Sleep Bags thinner then the blankets or doonas you put on your own bed?

Why don’t Sleep Bags have sleeves?

Zips or Shoulder Snaps?

What are Mockingbird Street products made of?

Why the High Fire Danger Rating?

Why are Sleep Bags a great choice for baby bedding?

Have you ever walked in on your little one and they’ve kicked off the covers? Again? And Again? And Again? Or found them tangled up in bedding? A Sleep Bag allows the child to remain covered up and maintain a constant temperature throughout their sleep time, without them kicking off covers or getting tangled in sheets or blankets. They are much lower maintenance than conventional bedding and can provide familiarity and a sense of ‘home’ when children are travelling or transitioning from a bassinet to a cot.

What ages are Mockingbird Street Sleep Bags designed for?

Our Sleep Bags come in two sizes: 000 – 00, for babies 0 to 6 months and 0 – 1 for babies 6 to 18 months, however you should check our size guide as our bags are nice and long and may fit your little one for longer than that.

What size do I need?

When you chose a size you need to make sure to get the correct one to prevent your child slipping into it and their head becoming covered if it’s too large, or too small and it might restrict your baby’s movements and be uncomfortable, leading to a restless baby and less sleep for you!

Tog refers to the weight or thickness of a Sleep Bag. The higher the TOG value, the thicker and warmer the bag. The general rule is to use thinner ones in Summer and thicker ones in winter. Our bags are 1.0 TOG, which means they’re suitable for moderate temperatures and provided your baby’s room is a stable 20ºc – 23ºc they could be used year round.

What should my child wear inside a Sleep Bag?

As our sleep bags are suitable for cooler summer nights and warmer winter nights and everything in between, we would advise that you dress your baby in a short sleeved onsie or pyjamas for warmer nights, and add a long sleeve onesie or pyjama top for cooler ones. If baby is still chilly try adding an extra layer of clothes or some socks.

Keep in mind that it’s better to be cool than hot for sleeping and quite normal for your little one’s hand and arms to feel cool – just like us adults! The best place to check your baby’s body temperature is the back of the neck. If it’s hot or damp then your baby might be too warm. If it’s cold then your child might be too cool. We recommend using a room thermometer to determine room temperature and ensure baby is kept in a comfortable and consistent temperature.

Could my child become too hot?

As long as the room is at a moderate temperature and the right TOG Sleep Bag and clothing are used there’s no danger of overheating. We would advise all our customers not to put baby to sleep in clothes with a hood and not to use extra bedding or blankets on baby – just a fitted cot sheet is enough if you’re using a Sleep Bag. See our organic cotton Sheet Sets here.

Do Sleep Bags wash and dry easily?

Yes. All our Sleep Bags wash and dry easily. We recommend washing them at 30ºc, which is kinder to the environment than higher temperatures, and to wash inside out and with the zipper closed to avoid snagging.

Do I need more then one Sleep Bag?

We’d recommend getting two or three so that you can have one on baby, and one or two spares … or just in case a night-time nappy leak occurs, or so you can have one on baby and one in the wash.

Why are Sleep Bags thinner then the blankets or doonas you put on your own bed?

There are a number of factors that determine the Tog Rating of a Sleep Bag but the easiest way to explain is; Your bed has a sheet below and a blanket on top, allowing air to circulate a bit more freely around your body and escape from the sides, and top. Sleep Bags are like having a blanket on top and underneath – it’s a bit more snug and air escapes around the armholes and neck, creating a comfortable and regulated temperature inside.

Why don’t Sleep Bags have sleeves?

As explained above, air circulates inside the Sleep Bag and escapes via the neck and armholes. It’s not recommended to have arms on sleep bags as it limits air circulation and can interefere with regulating temperature. Sleeves are only recommended in very cold climates.

Zips or Shoulder Snaps?

As babies become bigger and stronger they can force open the snaps on shoulders and escape from sleep bags, so we use centre zips on all our bags. The centre zips are 2-way, for easy late-night nappy changes, and have a nice soft jersey ‘skin protector’ lining on the inside of the bag to prevent you catching baby’s skin or clothes in the zipper. They've also got clever zipper tag covers at the top and the bottom to help prevent little fingers from finding the zipper tag and opening the bag.

What are Mockingbird Street products made of?

The exterior is made with 100% GOTS certified organic cotton, woven in a 300 thread count sateen weave – soft, smooth and nice and strong. The Lining is also made from 100% GOTS certified organic cotton jersey. They are all rigorously tested to meet all Standards. Find out more about GOTS certification and why organic cotton is important on our Organic Cotton page

Why the High Fire Danger rating?

You may have noticed the little red tag inside our sleep bags has a 'High Fire Danger' warning. This shows that our bags have been through stringent safety testing. But don't worry - there's nothing wrong! All of our sleep bags conform with Australian/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1249:2003. This standard relates specifically to Children's nightwear and is strictly monitored. Most of the clothes that your children wear are not monitored by these standards, and this is why you will see the labelling mainly on children's nightwear - even if the fabrics used in producing these garments are the same as those used in their everyday clothes.

Our Sleep Bags are labelled as 'High Fire Danger'. This labelling complies with the standards set by Standards Australia, and it must be noted that the standard has been revised to specifically include how we label baby sleep bags. Most sleep bags are classified as 'category 4' and MUST carry the high fire danger labels if they are permanently closed at the bottom by their inherent design.

Note that 100% cotton is a natural cellulose class of fibre, and all natural fibres burn readily unless they are given adequate flame retardant chemical treatments. Because sleeping bags are a free flowing garment, and are not tightly fitting like most nightware garments such as a onesie or pyjama's, means that they are classified as a category 4 garment and therefore must carry the 'High Fire danger label'.